How Cheating Will Make You A Better Friend

I’ve always impressed my friends by remembering significant events in their lives. I always send a good luck text before a job interview or wish them well before they go on a nice vacation. Over the years many people have complimented me on it, and asked how it is that I am able to remember all these events. Well I’m finally going to share my secret with you.

I cheat.

Whenever someone tells me about an upcoming event in their lives, their favorite drink or what they’d like for the holidays, I write it down. I set a reminder in my calendar to write the person a message about their big event or make a note a few weeks before their birthday or the holidays on which gift suits them best.

It’s really that simple!

While it may not be as impressive as people assume, it still makes my friends happy and lets them know that I care.

Now that you know how the magic trick works, you can use it to improve your relationships with friends, co-workers and family.

Here are some of the best friendship hacks I use:

Use Boomerang – Boomerang is an plugin for Gmail that allows you to write emails now and send them at a later date. It’s commonly used to schedule important emails for a Monday morning, or set reminders for deadlines. But it can also be used to set up emails while a topic is still fresh in your head. If you know a coworker is going to a gig on the weekend you could set up one asking them how it went. And it’s a good way to even check back in with someone who’s been under the weather.

Evernote isn’t just for lists! – If you follow this blog you’ll know I have a notebook in Evernote set-up for pretty much everything. So you won’t be surprised to find out that I have one for all my friends and family. I use it to store gift ideas, as well as keep notes on things like pet’s names or favorite drinks. People are always impressed when you already know their favorite Starbucks order! It’s these small personal touches that let people know you care.And who can remember everything? Have a cheat sheet!

As well as helping you make friendships, keeping notes of what people like can also help you in a business setting.

Outlook Notes – My work email client at FOX was run by Outlook, which had a notes section  for each contact. This was super handy as I could keep important information on experts, guests and publicists  here. I’d keep notes in there like “prefers meetings on Monday” or “would rather discuss a project on the phone then over email.” It gives you the professional edge and make each person feel important. Attention to detail will make you stand out.